FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT COLIFORM - PAGE 3

The stubborn bacteria contaminating Boca Raton`s water system still are resisting every effort at extermination. Water analyzed on Wednesday from samples taken on Tuesday showed coliform had spread to every corner of the system. Chemists found 23 of 138 samples testing positive, compared with only two of 38 the day before -- an increase from 5 percent to 17 percent. "We`re very discouraged," admitted Joe Hancock, director of the Boca Raton Public Utilities Department. Other officials saw Wednesday`s results in a different light, though.

fort lauderdale Water tests in Las Olas Isles show pollution decreasing since the city's controversial ordinance requiring boat dwellers to hook up to sewage stations. A report issued this week by the Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protection shows a reduction in fecal coliform levels in Las Olas Isles since the law went into effect January 1998. Meanwhile, a separate, city report showed a spike in fecal coliform at a July reading in Hendricks Isle. Nearly 600 vessels dock in the Las Olas Isles area, according to the report.

Drinking water quality problems have resurfaced in western Palm Beach County , where water supply upgrades for Glades communities have already cost the public more than $60 million. Palm Beach County last week warned Pahokee, Belle Glade and South Bay residents that coliform bacteria levels in the drinking water exceeded allowable standards. While the coliform findings weren't bad enough to make the water unsafe to drink, they were another sign of water quality problems plaguing the crumbling, outdated water lines relied on by western communities.

Boca Raton The search continued on Tuesday for the source of coliform bacteria found in 15 samples taken from the city's water supply last week. Officials have yet to single out a reason for the contaminated samples. The presence of the coliform bacteria prompted city officials to issue a boil-water order that lasted four days. The order was lifted Sunday, after samples taken on two consecutive days showed the water was clean. Meantime, in an effort to give a boost to restaurants that may have lost business because of the boil-water order, Mayor Steven Abrams is putting together a "Dine Out in Boca" day, which likely will be scheduled in January.

Water pollution statistics released this week by the city of Fort Lauderdale have turned out to be misleadingly optimistic, city officials said Friday. The city had released figures showing a sustained drop in bacteria associated with human and animal waste in the canals off Las Olas Boulevard since 1994. But it turns out the city was using two kinds of numbers, and that gave a false impression of a sharp downward trend, city officials said. They said the error was unintentional. In the first three and a half years, the city offered numbers that measured total amounts of coliform bacteria.

Displeased that months of effort have failed to find the cause of lingering bacterial pollution in the St. Lucie River, Stuart city officials have commissioned their own water quality tests. Dave Peters, the city's assistant public works director, said the City Commission was concerned the Martin County Health Department and state Department of Environmental Protection couldn't find a source for the high levels of fecal coliform bacteria reported since March. Unsafe levels of fecal coliform -- which can cause ear, eye and stomach irritation -- have forced health officials to advise against contact with river water between the Roosevelt and Evans Crary bridges.

A site on the North Fork of the St. Lucie River north of the Martin County line tested positive for unsafe levels of bacterial pollution, and scientists will retest the area next week. Dodie Stephens, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the North Fork sample collected Wednesday had 630 bacterial colonies per 100 milliliters of water. "The state standard is 400, so it is higher than what we would want to see and something we would be concerned about and want to look into," Stephens said.

To help restaurants that may have lost business during December's boil-water order, Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams is asking people to drop by any Boca Raton restaurant on Friday as part of a citywide "Dine Out Day." The boil-water order lasted four days and was lifted Dec. 15, after two rounds of water tests showed no signs of coliform bacteria. Coffee shops were forced to close down since they couldn't use city water, while other restaurants bought hundreds of gallons of water for customers to drink.

A four-block stretch of beach was closed Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale after routine testing south of Las Olas Boulevard found high levels of bacteria in the water. It was to remain closed today until results come in from the latest tests. The Broward office of the Florida Department of Health said the water contained elevated concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria. The city closed the beach between lifeguard towers No. 1 and No. 4, from the 600 block of State Road A1A to the 1000 block of A1A. David Fleshler

Boca Raton city utility officials Thursday found fecal coliform bacteria in one of the 25 city wells that supply drinking water and immediately pulled it from service. The affected water was "raw" water yet to be processed, so it presents no danger or need for precautions to the public, city officials said. There is no need to boil water. The source of the contamination, which is commonly human or animal waste, was still under investigation, said Chris Helfrich, Boca Raton 's city utility director.